/*
 * Copyright 2015 the original author or authors.
 *
 * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
 * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
 * You may obtain a copy of the License at
 *
 *      http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
 *
 * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
 * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
 * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
 * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
 * limitations under the License.
 */
package org.springframework.cloud.client.hypermedia;

import org.springframework.cloud.client.ServiceInstance;

/**
 * A component that will provide a {@link ServiceInstance} or can express the absence of one by returning
 * {@literal null}.
 * 
 * @author Oliver Gierke
 */
public interface ServiceInstanceProvider {

	/**
	 * Returns the service instance or {@literal null} in case the service is currently unavailable.
	 * 
	 * @return the service instance or {@literal null} in case the service is currently unavailable.
	 */
	ServiceInstance getServiceInstance();
}
